By Sue Cox.

If you are expecting or have a new baby in your home, read this book every night. Magic words for a magic time.

This is a book about breastfeeding, but more fundamentally it is about the joy and happiness of welcoming a new baby into your lives and caring for this new little person. Babies and their parents are meant to be good for each other yet many parents approach the arrival of their child with terror in their hearts and those first weeks at home with real dread.

Of course childbirth is a time of physical and emotional stress but the reward is a brand new baby to love and care for. Cox gently reminds us of this with her reassuring words. She does insist that new skills need to be learned at the baby’s pace. That means the first latch in the hour after birth, beginning breastfeeding, learning to sleep and enjoying being cuddled by both parents. Nothing is more important for the new baby than food, sleep and love — all of which the new parents can provide. Still feel nervous? Read Sue Cox’s book and you’ll be fine.

There are some great one-liners in the book:

‘Cream and ointments — the only thing that needs to go on the breast is a baby … properly!’

‘Dealing with these huge changes in your life associated with being responsible for your dependent newborn … may require a really good cry’

Cox goes beyond just advice on breastfeeding technique — though she does cover this well. She aims at an overall understanding of calm and gentle parenting as the best approach for babies and parents. Not so many rules, not so much routine but more trust of instincts, more loving support for each other and more time spent together.

At the end of the book are blank pages entitled: ‘Things I want to remember’ and ‘Our plan’. These pages are for parents. Cox is encouraging parents to think about how they can care for their baby, to look beyond the birth and to develop an understanding of their baby’s needs, enabling them to start the parenting journey with confidence.

The book is smallish at only 112 pages and very plainly laid out with black and white illustrations. Don’t be misled by this simple presentation. The words between these covers are truly insightful. If you are expecting or have a new baby in your home; read this book every night. Babies are easy to care for. It’s the approach that makes all the difference.

Who better than Tasmanian Sue Cox AM to write a book on the magic of babies? Cox is already the author of many respected books on breastfeeding including Breastfeeding I Can Do That and Breastfeeding with Confidence. Many a breastfeeding class watches her DVDs: Mother and Baby ... getting it right: Positioning and Attachment; Mother and Baby ... the first week and Breastfeeding: Mom and I Can Do That — the first latch. Sue's work was recognised in the 2004 Australia Day Honours list with membership of the Order of (AM), awarded ‘For service to community health, particularly as a lactation consultant, educator and counsellor for the care of breastfeeding mothers and their babies.’

Recommended for all group libraries and all new mothers.